Baby length: 13.5 inches - the length of an eggplant
Baby weight: 1.5 lbs.
Bump size: 38.25 inches (+.75 inches from last week)
Weight: +17.5 pounds (+1.5 lbs. from last week)
Cravings: Sweets, duh.
Cravings
My new obsession is Menchie's. Have you heard of it? It's a frozen yogurt shop that has an entire wall of flavors and then another wall of toppings. I tried it on Friday and was hooked.
I feel that frozen yogurt does not count as a dessert. Do you agree? Never mind the fact that I loaded it up with brownie crumbles, reese cups, tiny cheesecake squares and many other delicious toppings.
I liked it so much that I went back again the next day - only so that Pat could experience the awesomeness for the first time too. It was all about him, not about me. Even though I had to force him to go and he wasn't even hungry for dessert.
I think I have created an image of myself as eating desserts morning noon and night during this pregnancy and this is not true. Don't get me wrong - I crave them enough to do that, but I am actually demonstrating much more self control than I give myself credit for (minus the Menchie's two days in a row).
We had our cookout two weeks ago and I told you there were lots of desserts leftover at our house. These desserts are still around (brownies and cookies). When I was craving them, I would just tear off a little corner of one and walk away. Never have I eaten one all at once. I just thought you should know in case you had visions in your head of me baking trays of brownies and eating them in one sitting.
Baby Movements
I can actually see the baby moving in my belly now. This was our Sunday morning entertainment. I lifted my shirt up and we watched the jerks and twitches in my stomach. And by we I mean that Pat watched a first, got bored with it and then went back to watching TV.
I, however, am obsessed and could watch my belly all day long. It is so strange and exciting all at the same time. I remember my SIL saying to me once while she was pregnant that she felt like she was a part of a science experiment because of all the strange things happening in her belly. I now know exactly what she meant. But I couldn't be more excited about this little science experiment that is moving and shaking inside of my belly.
This is probably the only time in my life that I will be excited to see my belly moving. I'm sure later in life when my belly moves because the fat is jiggling, it won't be nearly as entertaining. So I'm going to enjoy each of these special moments.
Maternity Lessons
We registered for Baby R this weekend. It feels so nice to be done and the experience definitely made it feel more real that we are having a baby! I was terrified of the registering process because I thought it would be super overwhelming but getting advice from people who just went through this experience themselves (thanks, Traci & Lisa) and what I remember from going with my sister and helping with nephew Max when he was young, made it so much easier for us.
That being said, it was still exhausting. We were in Babies R Us for three and a half hours and then went to Target after that. I was shocked at how patient and helpful Pat was during the process. He is a patient and helpful person but not when it comes to shopping. I couldn't believe he was patient and helpful for the entire 4+ hours we were looking at baby stuff. Usually his shopping threshold is about 20 minutes so this was quite a stretch for him and he was a great sport!
Nursery
The bookshelf is finished and in the nursery. And it actually has books on it now! Not any new ones, just all my old children's books from growing up.
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| Bookshelf before and after. We already owned this bookshelf (was originally my parents') so other than the paint, it was free! |
We are now in search of the perfect swivel, rocker, recliner chair. It will be the last missing piece for the nursery. Turns out these chairs aren't easy to find. We decided not to go with the traditional glider/ottoman because we don't have a lot of room for the ottoman and because we feel the recliner will more easily transition to a nice piece of furniture somewhere else in our house later on.
In addition to being difficult to find, it also turns out these chairs aren't cheap. But we have done the entire rest of the nursery quite inexpensively and everyone tells me how much time they spend in these chairs so we are willing to splurge. Don't worry, I am still shopping around feverishly for the best deal.
Symptoms
The back ache has returned. Still not terrible or unbearable but enough to be annoying. I actually ordered a lumbar support pillow for my car and office chair (per my doctor's recommendation). Just add this to the growing list of similarities between myself and the elderly. No bladder control and a lumbar support pillow that travels with you. Good thing my pride went out the window at about week 16 of the pregnancy.
I'm also getting my pregnancy massage tomorrow so hopefully that will help with the back pain. And even if it doesn't, I'm sure it will feel great and it is FREE since I have a gift card.
I thought I was emotional before when I cried just thinking about the movie Dumbo, but my emotions have gone to all new extremes this week.
On Sunday I wanted to go to a furniture store in search of the swivel, rocker, recliner mentioned above. I knew Pat had some things he wanted to do on the computer so I patiently waited for him to finish and then asked if he was ready to go to the furniture store.
His response was very short and direct and basically said there was no chance he was going shopping again (remember - we had just spent the entire day before registering). Not getting the response I was looking for, I walked away and then out of nowhere I started sobbing.
I don't know what came over me but I couldn't stop crying. But even as I was standing there bawling, I kept thinking about how ridiculous it was that I was crying and then I would start laughing. So it was this weird combination of crying and laughing and I'm sure I sounded somewhat like a hyena.
Pat had no idea what was going on and thought I was faking. When he realized my tears and sobs were real, he was both confused and concerned. He asked me what was wrong and all I could say (or sob) was, "You hurt my feelings." Spoken just like you would imagine from a five year-old. I realized it then and am still very much aware of how ridiculous this entire situation was but yet I couldn't make it stop.
Maybe it goes without saying, but Pat ended up accompanying me to the furniture store(s).
Weight Gain
So I'm up a pound and a half since last week. Considering all that I ate during our cookout and the days after, I am pretty okay with this. That being said, the weight was done before my Menchie's discovery. Next week could be a different story.
Even though I like to pretend that my weight gain has been "all baby" so far, I know this isn't true. If it was all belly, then why are my underwear suddenly cutting off my circulation? I've always had a little junk in my trunk, if you will, but it seems as if the trunk is getting even more full these days.
Pat gave me a Victoria's Secret gift card for Christmas which I haven't used yet because I found out I was pregnant shortly after receiving it. He keeps encouraging me to go use it and buy new underwear but I keep trying to explain to him that pregnancy is not the time you want to be buying underwear from Victoria's Secret. Especially when you know you're going to need to buy them in a size bigger than you normally wear.
So instead, I bought some granny panties (no offense to any grannies out there) from our local grocery story, Marc's. If you know of Marc's, you might think it's a strange place to buy underwear. And you're right. But it was only $1.99 for a three pack of Hanes cotton. What a deal!
When I got home and opened the package to find that the labels are printed in Chinese, I realized why they were so cheap. But that doesn't bother me because they are SO COMFORTABLE! Pat was appalled when I showed them to him. They are a bigger size than I normally wear and I believe his direct quote was, "Those look like they could fit me." I think this was an exaggeration, although I didn't ask him to try them on to verify.
He's right, though. They are big. But guess what? They fit me and they feel great and I don't care how unflattering they are. Don't worry, they aren't the kind of granny panties that come up to your belly button. They still sit at the hips but believe me when I say they provide full coverage.
I bought six pairs and I may even go back for more. I jokingly told Pat that I like these underwear so much that even after the baby, I might never go back to Victoria's Secret underwear again. He tried to laugh it off but then asked nervously, "You're not serious, right?"
No, I'm not serious. I like to think that someday I will feel skinny and pretty again and have a desire to wear cute underwear. But for now, my date with Victoria is going to have to wait because I have moved on to bigger (literally) and better things for the time being.
Gender Prediction
My neighbor is guessing girl based on how badly I'm craving sweets. We also did the "baby on the belly" old wives' tale test with my niece Harper where if she keeps both feet on the belly, it means you are having a girl. She says (or I guess her feet say) we are having a girl too.
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